What I really want to say is that on this day back in 1954, one David Lee Roth entered this world. Some people will roll their eyes at hearing that fact, but some of us think that despite (or because of) his issues over the years, he was one cool cat during his Van Halen and early solo career years.
"Crazy from the heat" long before his 1985 EP bearing the same title, Roth injected fledgling rockers Van Halen with a sense of flair and attitude that became their calling card whenever they brought their show to town. He fronted the powerful band from 1974 until 1985. But hold on... let's go back to the beginning:
Dave was born in Bloomington, Indiana. His father, a renowned eye surgeon, was rolling in the money, which must have helped along the way. His uncle owned a popular NYC cafe/nightclub during the 60's, and it was there that a very young David Lee was first exposed to show business. Hendrix and Dylan were a couple of the cafe's star attractions back then. Cool, huh?
After the Roth family lived for a time in Massachusets, they moved on to balmy Pasadena, California, where the adolescent David had some problems. He bounced from school to school and was sent to a psychiatrist, and even ended up at a ranch for troubled teens. It was at college that Dave met two brothers with an interest in music.
Those brothers were Alex and Eddie Van Halen. They had a band called Mammoth at the time, doing a lot of gigging around the area. Roth joined Mammoth shortly before the group changed their name. Apparently, the name was already taken.
Under the new name Van Halen, which simply sounds so perfectly rock'n'roll, the boys gained local success. In 1977, Van Halen was discovered by Warner Bros' Ted Templeton, who heard them play at one of their steady gigs at the Starwood Club. A year later, the band's eponymous first album hit the streets. And the rest, as they say, was history.
Van Halen became as famous for their non-stop booze-and-babes activity as for their rollicking music. David dressed in outlandish outfits for concerts... not with the intention to shock... that was just his style. He promoted the band's wild image and helped take them to the top. With a little help from guitar genius Eddie writing dozens of best-selling songs.
Roth was a crucial component to Van Halen's success, bringing his colourful and charismatic personality to live shows, belting out songs with raunch and sensuality. He was also the main lyricist for their songs.
Roth and the boys recorded and performed until 1985. Their stellar 1984 album sat at number two spot on Billboard chart, behind Michael Jackson's Thriller (Eddie played the guitar solo on hit Beat It), a tough act to beat, with its even broader international appeal. Still. Nearly half of the songs off 1984 became huge hits on radio and MTV.
Roth pursued his own career with zest, pumping out music almost as popular as that of Van Halen, at least for a little while. His Crazy From the Heat EP took off like a shot with its quirky, fun covers of standards and their accompanying videos. Then the LP Eat 'Em and Smile roared into the picture. For this, Dave recruited the industry's top musicians to help put him on the map as a solo artist - guys like Billy Sheehan on bass, Steve Vai on guitar, and drummer Gregg Bissonette. The album hit number four on Billboard, telling those guys in Van Halen to "watch out!". I loved EEAS, playing the tape endlessly on my Walkman during my commute to and from work.
A couple of years later, Skyscraper continued Roth's party music ethic, though with a little experimentation to jazz things up. I think that Just Like Paradise stands as one of Dave's best songs, full of fun and optimism. A fitting way to see out the 80's.
Next came A Little Ain't Enough, a troubled production almost right from the start, when new guitarist Jason Becker was diagnosed with rapidly debilitating ALS. Becker barely finished the album with Roth, but could not stay on for touring. A decent rock album, but Roth's popularity was waning and sales of his albums were on the decline. Even with yet another guitarist, their tour was a mess and they broke up.
A strange story about Roth unknowingly buying "Jamaican bunk reefer" from a police officer hit the headlines in the early 90's. A minor offence but it kept the guy in the public eye.
1994's Your Dirty Little Mouth got mixed reviews, suffering, some said, from lack of focus. Roth did too much genre-hopping on the album for some folks. By this time, I'd lost interest in poor Dave, perhaps unfairly. I'll give the disc a spin sometime soon to see if there might be something of worth all these years later.
The rest of the decade was a flurry of wacky activity for Dave. He played with a Las Vegas adult lounge act; he trained and worked as an Emergency Medical Technician; and he wrote his highly-praised memoir Crazy From the Heat. Then Diamond Dave released DLR Band, which many considered a success and return to form.
David Lee Roth even briefly joined Van Halen in 1996 for a tour and to record a couple of new songs. But that dream didn't last.
Since then, Dave's done all manner of special appearances and projects. His foray into radio with The David Lee Roth Show was short-lived, thanks to hassles with management.
Roth rejoined Van Halen in 2007, and after working through some conflicts, became closer than ever with Eddie and the boys. They toured to massive crowds for several years, building up to...
In January of 2012, Van Halen - with Roth - played an intimate gig at the Cafe Wha?, the very spot that Roth's uncle Manny ran back in the 60's! That same day saw the premiere of Tattoo, the lead single off their upcoming album.
The disc, entitled A Different Kind of Truth, was Van Halen's first album with Roth since '84. It was a mix of new material and early demo songs given new life. Heavy and powerful and reasonably fun to listen to, this was another sort of return to form. The album debuted at number two on Billboard and saw a huge amount of success, especially after such a long wait since the last recording. I liked it a lot upon first buying the CD, but my feelings toward it have cooled a bit since.
The Roth Show, a video webcast that's run since 2012, is Dave's forum on just about anything. I've only watched a few episodes and found it lacking in wackiness, one thing I thought Roth would provide in aces. Maybe ol' Diamond Dave has slowed down just enough that he's "mellowed" - as much as a dude like him can mellow.
Cheers to a great party-hearty rock'n'roll singer! Or maybe I should I say, "Bottoms Up!"
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(Browse the blog to see other Van Halen posts)
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